We've long said Chicago blues traffics in cliche, but we never thought we'd see a news item where that carried over into the crime blotter. more ›

Legendary Chicago blues musician Willie "Big Eyes" Smith died today. more ›

Elmore James died on this date 48 years ago. more ›

(Ed. Note: Art and I were chatting on the phone the other day when he mentioned he'd been reading the "One for the Road" tributes to Muddy Waters and that he had a photo of Waters and his wife. Art once sold a copy of this photo to Billy Corgan from the trunk of his car. Later that day his assistant e-mailed me the photo above. Art and I discussed holding off on posting this until the anniversary of Waters's death on April 30. Cleaning out my inbox last night I received another e-mail from Art that read, "This might be a good time and place to run my Muddy picture." He's right, of course. That photo is amazing on so many levels; it epitomizes cool. It also reminds me that having Art Shay as a regular contributor to Chicagoist is easily one of the high points of my short tenure as editor. — CS) more ›

There's no doubt of the influence of Muddy Waters on the British Invasion of the 1960s. Hell, the Rolling Stones early records were straight ripoffs of Waters and the Chess Records stable of artists — remember the 2120 South Michigan Avenue bootleg that was uploaded to the web a few months back? Here is another meeting of the minds between Waters and the Stones, from 1981 at the Checkerboard Lounge back when that club was still in Bronzeville, singing about something that's good for your head and relaxes your body (don't you know). more ›

Here's a treat we found Youtubing for Muddy Waters clips today and came across this gem of a clip from a 1970 documentary on Chicago Blues. Not only does this clip include Waters singing "Hoochie Coochie Man" with Buddy Guy on guitar, but there are talking head segments included where Waters not only embraces his status as the founder of the Chicago Blues style, he does so matter-of-fact and without ego. In a second segment near the end of the clip, Waters explains the elements he feels are essential to being a bluesman. Simply an amazing clip. more ›

Today would have been the 98th birthday of McKinley Morganfield, whom we know better as the father of Chicago Blues, Muddy Waters. Not only was Waters the father of the Chicago Blues sound, his music was a major inspiration on the British Invasion of the 1960s (particularly the Rolling Stones). So we're going to do a week's worth of his songs for "One for the Road." Buckle up, because Muddy is a man. Way past 21. more ›

The first time we saw Koko Taylor in concert was in the late 80's. Over the next two decades until her death, we saw her at least a half-dozen times; she played the same set every time. more ›

Sometime during the noon hour we were listening to the Loop when they decided to play George Thorgood. After we resisted the urge to run a kebab skewer through our ears we decided to cleanse our aural palate with some Chicago blues. Here's a pre-fez Lil' Ed & the Blues Imperials for ya. more ›

One of my favorite things about Halloween is tuning in to Steve Cushing's long-running radio program on blues, jazz and blues heritage, Blues Before Sunrise. Cushing's annual Halloween program, spanning an incredible five hours from midnight to 5 a.m., is a marathon that I rarely miss, even though he plays the same songs every year. It runs a close second to Cushing's annual Christmas program in keeping my attention. more ›

Cora "Koko Taylor" Walton was hailed by many as the "Queen of the Blues," helped prove that the blues wasn't just a man's game, and sang her ass off for decades. She won just about every musical award known to the industry, she was a ball of fire and could "make love to a alligator crocodile." And sadly, she passed away here in Chicago yesterday due to complications from gastrointestinal surgery. more ›